Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby Applauds Starting Offensive Line, Young Backups

NORMAN — Bill Bedenbaugh has found his starting five.

As expected, he Oklahoma offensive line coach has settled on last year’s starting left tackle (Anton Harrison), last year’s center (Andrew Raym), last year’s starting right guard (Chris Murray). That’s plenty of returning experience up front.

But Cal transfer McKade Mettauer is the Sooners’ new left guard, and former Tennessee transfer Wanya Morris is back and will start at right tackle, per the depth chart the team released Monday ahead of Saturday’s season opener against UTEP.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who knows a thing or two about offensive line play, said the fact that three of the five are transfers who began their college football careers elsewhere (Murray started out at UCLA, plus backup Robert Congel has played at Texas A&M and Arizona, and backup left tackle Tyler Guyton began his career at TCU) has helped them pick up the complexities of his offensive system.

“You know, they've had to live some other situations and circumstances,” Lebby said, “and that’s created some maturity for them to be able to come in and and get ready to roll.”

Lebby said the same thing helped Pittsburgh transfer Davis Beville take the backup quarterback job.

Learning the terminology and communicating — two factors you absolutely have to get right on the offensive line, or the backup quarterback could be playing sooner than expected — have been good this preseason, Lebby said.

“Yeah, I think the communication piece of it has been really good,” he said. “There's been great buy-in. They've bought into the tempo piece of it and playing fast and understanding how they've got to communicate with the urgency that we’ve got to do it with to be able to play the way we want to play.”

In addition to Guyton, redshirt freshman Savion Byrd had a good camp and is the backup left guard, and true freshmen Jake Taylor (right guard) and Jacob Sexton (right tackle) have climbed quickly.

“Tyler Guyton has been been really, really good,” Lebby said. “You know, he was good in the spring. He had a great summer. Looking for big things from him, you know, to continue to push, and excited about where he's at.

“Jake Taylor, Jacob Sexton, these are both guys that weren't here in the spring. But you see them on a two-deep and it’s a credit to them and they’ve come in and did an unbelievable job this summer with (strength coach Jerry Schmidt), have put themselves in position to to compete and be called on and be the guys that we can call on and feel good about it. So, excited for them to be such young guys and be able to do what they're doing right now.”

Lebby said one other factor elevated the starting five over their peers.

“I think the biggest thing with those five guys that are gonna get the nod on Saturdays, they've created a ton of consistency,” Lebby said. “You know, again, we know what we're gonna get before we get it. And then there's some guys that are sitting there at backups that will play as well. So they have done a really good job. But that group, man, has done a great job. We're in a really good place as a unit right now because of them. And it's gonna start up front like always.”